


An Ocean

by chronicAngel



Series: Leaves in the Summer [24]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Episode 109: Oto's Invitation, F/M, POV Third Person, SasuSaku Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-31 05:10:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13968003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronicAngel/pseuds/chronicAngel
Summary: It's a thought that terrifies him, and he feels that in some way, he owes it to her to pick her crumpled body off of the ground and carry her to the bench. The bench where he broke her heart for the first time. Where he'll break it for the last time.SasuSaku Week 2018 Day 2: Favorite Angst Moment





	An Ocean

Her eyes are an ocean.

He has spent as many hours lost in introspection about the way her eyes look during the rare moments she is not paying attention to him as he has thinking about things that actually matter, and it's one of the many reasons he has to leave. She carries all seven seas in her eyes, the color of fresh sea foam deposited along the shore. Pearls form when she smiles and storms rage when she is angry, similar to the distinct fire of all the dead Uchiha women he has to force himself to remember whenever he spends too much time lingering on the way her eyes brighten every morning when she sees him, waiting for her and Kakashi and the idiot.

He forces himself not to think about the fact that they may never light up that way again while she begs for him not to leave, because if he lets himself linger for too long on how many things he is taking away from the people he can begrudgingly admit he cares about, he might not be able to make himself do what he has to. "I... I love you with all my heart! If you were to stay here with me, there would be no regrets... because every day we'd do something fun, we'd be happy, I swear! I would do anything for you! So... Please, just stay with me!" His back is turned to her, but he can hear the desperation. There is a storm brewing in her eyes, he is sure, the murky depths of her gaze tainted with cold rain water that sloshes over the brims that are her eyelids. Salt is being trapped by those pretty eyelashes, gluing them together.

She's falling apart, and once more, he is the cause.

He moves behind her without thinking about it and almost grimaces at the way she tenses like prey who can sense she is about to be pounced on. He has not, in all their time as a team, purposely hurt Sakura; he doesn't know why she thinks he would now. "Sakura..." He starts, voice as heavy with emotion as he ever allows it to get.

He thinks of early mornings, with she and Naruto pointing at Kakashi and yelling "You're late!" in unison while he stands in the background with his hands tucked into his pockets. He thinks of the Chūnin Exams, waking up to see her with all her hair chopped off and standing to defend them. He remembers red hot anger that day, attacking without thinking.

He thinks of the hospital after his fight with Itachi, floating between consciousness and unconsciousness with only a vague awareness of the world around him. He remembers waking up with her and a vase with a single, fresh daffodil that was clearly from the Yamanaka Flower Shop at his side. She hugged him so tight when he woke up that he could swear she was going to break his ribs. He would never hug her back, trying too hard already to distance himself from her and all the light she brought with her. Sakura, along with the other members of Team 7, were the only good things about Konoha. Letting go of her was-- is-- easily the hardest part of leaving. It's something he knows, though, as he stands only inches away from her, his eyes focused on the back of her neck if only because he has nowhere else to look, that he has to do.

"Thank you," he says, voice almost a whisper. His hand darts into the back of her neck before he says anything else.

He knows he should leave her there. That any additional second he stays in Konoha is another second he has to change his mind. He had thought he was secure in his decision, but hearing her beg him to stay, or else offer to leave everything else she cares about just so she can stay by his side has shaken him. She would break ties with everyone else in the world because he matters to her. It's a thought that terrifies him, and he feels that in some way, he owes it to her to pick her crumpled body off of the ground and carry her to the bench. The bench where he broke her heart for the first time. Where he'll break it for the last time. He presses two fingers into her forehead without thinking before he goes.


End file.
